Improvement in fire-proof safes



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.v

EDWARD II. ASHCROF'I, OF LYNN, MASSAGHUSFTTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE-PROOF SAFES.-

Speciication forming part of Letters Patent No. 70,390, dated November5, 1867.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, E. H. AsHcRoFT, of Lynn, in the county of Essex, inthe State of Massachusetts, have invented a certainnew and usefulImprovement in Fire-Proof Safes; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a clear, exact, and full description of the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, like parts being represented by like letters in theseveral figures.

The nature of my invention consists in making fire-proof safes byintroducing water inside in a certain manner, whereby steam isgenerated, the safe and its contents protected.

To enable others ,skilled in the art to make and use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical section of my safe; Fig.2, a horizontal section of the same, and Fig. 8 a side elevation ofcertain water pipes or tubes removed from the safe.

A represents the outside or walls of the safe, made, as usual, of metal,and B is the interior lining of the same, the safe having an opening ordoor, (l, as usual, to close the chamber D or open the same, and inwhich valuable papers, Sac., can be deposited and preserved in case oflire. 'Io effect this I introduce a series of tubes, E, on three sides,extending to the top A, as seen in Fig. 3, which can be filled withwater from the top through openings secured by screw plugs a., Thisnestwork` of tubes consists of vvertical ones, b, and horizontal ones,c. The tops of the former are perforated, as seen at d, so they cannotbe entirely lled but above upper horizontal tube c. These tubes may lieagainst the inner lining B, or occupy any intermediate space between itand the outer walls A; and there may be any suitable non-conductingmaterial placed between the inner and outer walls of the safe, such asasbestus, plaster-of-paris, &c. but such I do not consider necessary. Inthe chamberD, I also place several series of pipes, F, which `maybeinclosed, as seen at G", Fig. 2, or not,

at seen at F, on the opposite side of the chamber. One set is secured toor inside of the door (l, one also at the top and bottom of chamber,'ifdesired. These, or all, may be inclosed in outer cases, as at Gr; butbeing illed' with water, they are sealed with such suitable materialthat it will fuse at boiling heat, and thus release the steam at thecritical moment, or most important juncturesay after the supply in theoutside pipes between the walls has been more or less exhausted. The topof the inside lining B is perforated, as seen at j', Fig. 1, in order topermit the steam generated by the heat acting on thev water-pipes E toenter the interior of the safe, thus rendering its contents less liableto be charred.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. In a lire-proof safe, a series of perforated water-pipes, E, or theirequivalents, arranged substantially as described, and for the purpose fset forth.

2. In combination with said pipes, the inner perforated lining B andchamber D, arranged and operating in the manner substantially as shownand described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of the chamber D and water-pipes F, constructed andoperating in the manner substantially as shown and described, and forthe purpose set forth,

E. H. ASHGR'OFT.

Witnesses:

S. S. FAHNEsTocK, JOHN S. HOLLINesnEAn. y

